* US yields near record low
* Payrolls could open bond yield "trapdoor"
* Stocks lacking clear direction
By Jamie McGeever
LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Stocks struggled for direction on
Friday and U.S. Treasury yields remained anchored close to this
week's record low, marking their longest run of consecutive
weekly declines in four years ahead of the latest U.S.
unemployment report.
The data are expected to show solid job creation in June, but
worries over the world economy following Britain's vote to leave
the European Union and a deepening crisis in Italian banks
continue to sour investor sentiment globally.
The first measure of UK consumer confidence since the Brexit
referendum two weeks ago showed the steepest decline in morale
in more than five years, according to research company GfK on
Friday.
News that snipers killed five police officers during rallies
in the U.S. city of Dallas to protest against the fatal shooting
of two black men this week also helped to keep markets in narrow
ranges ahead of the June non-farm payrolls report.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 1 basis point to 1.37
percent US10YT=RR , on course for a run of seven weekly
declines - something not seen since mid-2012 - and close to
Tuesday's record low 1.32 percent.
Europe's FTSEuroFirst 300 index of leading shares was flat
in early trade at 1,277 points .FTEU3 , on track for its
biggest weekly loss in five months, MSCI's global stock index
.MIWD00000PUS slipped 0.1 percent and Asian shares ex-Japan
lost 0.4 percent .MIAPJ0000PUS .
Japan's Nikkei .N225 fell 0.9 percent as the yen
strengthened, and U.S. stock futures pointed to a slight rise at
the open on Wall Street of around 0.1 percent ESc1 .
Market attention turned to the June jobs data, which are
expected to show job growth of 175,000 last month and a slight
pick-up in wage growth. But investors remained wary given the
unexpected negative surprise in May.
"If we see another weak print, then the risk-off mood that
prevailed at the start of the week is likely to return with a
vengeance," Rabobank analysts said in a note to clients on
Friday.
"Indeed, an 'impossible and ridiculous' call such as 1.00
percent 10-year U.S. Treasuries would start to look all too
possible and extremely plausible. In short, a trapdoor is likely
to open underneath bond yields, taking us ever-deeper into
ultra-low/negative territory on a global basis," they said.
YIELD CURVE FLATTENS
Though strong payrolls data would spark fresh speculation of
a U.S. rate increase later this year, it would also trigger a
fresh round of currency weakness and likely policy tightening in
emerging markets.
Fed funds futures pricing shows that no U.S. rate increase
is expected for at least a year, and that there is even a
greater likelihood of a cut in the coming months than a hike.
In currencies, the dollar remained under pressure against
the backdrop of low Treasury yields and the flattest U.S. yield
curve in almost nine years. A flat curve - the narrowing of the
difference between 10- and 2-year yields - is a harbinger of
slowing growth, low inflation and low interest rates.
The dollar fell 0.2 percent against the Japanese yen to
100.55 yen JPY= , with the selling momentum once again fading
on the approach to 100.00. The yen is often seen as a safe-haven
currency in times of distress.
Japanese bond yields plunged to fresh record lows, with the
10-year yield touching -0.288 percent JP10YT=RR .
The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.1080 EUR= and sterling
rose 0.3 percent to $1.2950 GBP= , about a cent and a half
above its 31-year low of $1.2798 touched on Wednesday.
The pound is still on track for its third weekly decline and
is down 13 percent against the dollar since the June 23 Brexit
vote. That's on a par with the biggest declines in modern
history among the world's top four currencies.
"If sterling had overshot then we would have come back to
the mid-$1.30s. But we haven't," said Simon Derrick, head of
global currency strategy at Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) in London,
adding that a fall to $1.20 or even below wouldn't be a
surprise.
Oil prices recovered from Thursday's 5 percent slide to
two-month lows on the back of weekly crude stocks data, but were
still on course for a fall of around 7 percent on the week.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were last up almost 1 percent at
$46.85 and U.S. crude was up a similar amount at $45.56 CLc1 .
Spot gold XAU= edged down 0.3 percent on Friday to $1,356
an ounce but is set for its sixth consecutive weekly gain.
U.S.-based funds invested in precious metals attracted the
most money since February, adding $2 billion to these funds in
the latest week, according to Thomson Reuters' Lipper data.
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Shanghai CSI 300 and global effects interactive https://t.co/YqIYLIbInP
Chinese A-shares vs developed and emerging stocks http://link.reuters.com/rac25w
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